Carbon Clear News

Businesses are increasingly looking at how to make their electricity supply 100% renewable, and therefore climate neutral. Companies typically adopt complimentary approaches to reach their 100% renewable energy target, combining procurement methods such as green tariff contracts with suppliers, unbundled renewable energy attribute certificates (RECs), power purchase agreements (PPAs) and on-site generation projects. But among these options, what is best practice and which factors determine the methods companies choose?

The London Stock Exchange Group recently published guidance for companies on how to report environmental, social and governance (ESG) information to meet investor demand for better data. The aim of the guidance is “to close the ESG guidance gap”.

This week is Responsible Business Week 2017 (#RBWeek). It calls for businesses, their employees and partners to come together to share ideas and show how they are taking positive action for a fairer society and a more sustainable future.

2017: Hottest Year on Record?

Earlier this year it was widely reported that 2016 had been the hottest year ever. This week the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published its annual statement on the state of the global climate, confirming that 2016 was indeed the hottest year on record. The report states that 2016 was a full 1.1°C above the pre-industrial baseline, breaking the 2015 record by 0.06°C.

CDP recently published the materials companies need to be able to submit a disclosure to the 2017 investor led questionnaires (climate change, forests, water). The extent and breadth of this material and the questionnaires themselves may sometimes seem overwhelming.

When it comes to addressing the impact of dangerous climate change, we know that a binary approach doesn’t work. The Kyoto Protocol era (1997-2012) taught us this lesson: developed vs developing countries, mitigation vs adaptation, perpetrator vs victim, etc. Although progress was made, it was not quick enough, inclusive enough or innovative enough to meet the huge global challenges we face as a result of manmade climate change.